A young woman screams her appreciation as Jonathan Donahue leads Mercury Rev onto the stage in the evening sun. "What a bunch of hairdressers," spits her boyfriend. Understandable, perhaps, for the Rev newcomer. Donahue resembles Marc Almond in his pomp while guitarist Grasshopper gives every impression of preparing himself as a contestant on 'Camp Stars In Their Eyes' - he's come as Joe Strummer.
As Jonathan begins his own majestic, onstage ballet, it's clear that these boys can definitely talk the talk. He also sings like an Angel. And yet some of the Rev's songs still suffer from an over reliance on hammering you into submission with two dramatic chord changes and a wash of synth strings.
'Tides Of The Moon', however, is a beautiful creature. Donahue's glossy poetry perfectly in-synch with the dreamy chord changes that underpin it. It's a fine line - as 'Hercules' proves- a bit too Star Wars in the lyric department for some, but not the girls who seem to grow wilder the more camp Mercury Rev's music becomes. It's called 'Manilow Syndrome'.
They practically faint when 'Holes' is conjured up; did breakfast TV ever sound this good, while 'Goddess On The Highway' is a gentle reminder that the boy can write timeless, gorgeous music. It's also maybe the only song tonight that mentions a female.
'Spiders And Flies' is a moment of almost nursery rhyme simplicity - the kids love those words too - but a monumental 'The Dark Is Rising' closes the show tonight with Jonathan practically in tears, conducting his band like Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Then he stands, arms aloft for fully two minutes before dramatically falling to the floor for the final note. Girls' music never sounded so good.
